Falcons Open Fenton-Bockbrader Era With Win Over Titans

Friday, February 10

Rosemont, IL

11:00 AM

Bowling Green State University

1-0

Detroit Mercy

0-1

Bowling Green

Detroit Mercy

Sydney Stepp picked up the win vs. Detroit Mercy in Friday's opener. BGSU pitching allowed just four hits in two Friday games

Photo by: Kenneth Smith, University at Buffalo

February 10, 2023 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 BGSU-UDM Stats BGSU-DePaul Stats Tournament Central

BGSU goes 1-1 in a pair of opening-day pitchers’ duels

By: by Mike Cihon, BGSU Strategic Communications

ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Bowling Green State University softball team opened the Candace Fenton-Bockbrader Era with a pair of pitchers' duels on Friday (Feb. 10). The Falcons earned a split on day-one action at the DePaul Dome Tournament in Rosemont, Ill.

BGSU opened the season with a 3-2 victory over the University of Detroit Mercy, for the first win of Fenton-Bockbrader's collegiate head-coaching career.

In the nightcap, the Orange and Brown fell, 2-1, to host DePaul University.

Three Falcon pitchers combined to allow just four hits – two in each game – in 13 total innings of work.

In the opener, Sydney Stepp went five innings, allowing two runs and just two hits, to pick up the victory. Freshman Mackenzie Krafcik earned a save in her collegiate debut, retiring all six batters she faced.

In the second game, Hannah Davies suffered the loss despite allowing only two hits in her complete-game effort. BG struck out a total of 11 batters on the day, with Stepp fanning six, Davies four and Krafcik one.

NOTE OF THE DAY
• As mentioned, the win over Detroit Mercy was the first head-coaching victory of Candace Fenton-Bockbrader's collegiate head-coaching career. Fenton-Bockbrader is in her first season at the BGSU helm after serving as an assistant coach for the Falcons over the last two seasons.

DETROIT MERCY GAME – HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Falcons got an early run, taking the lead in the top of the first inning. Greta L'Esperance led off the game by drawing a walk against UDM pitcher Olivia Warrington, then promptly stole second base. One out later, L'Esperance came around to score on a throwing error.
• Madison Lenig, in her first collegiate at-bat, singled to center in the third inning. Lenig's base knock was the first hit of the game for either team.
• Sydney Stepp retired six-straight batters to begin the game, before Trinity Fessler and Rusti Glenn drew back-to-back walks to begin the UDM third. Kara Wolfbauer bunted the runners to second and third, but Stepp then struck out both Jordan Hazel and Renee Trotman to retire the side.
• Sophie Weber led off the fourth inning with a double, but was stranded there. The bottom of the frame saw the Titans draw a pair of one-out walks, but Stepp got a fly ball to center and a fielder's-choice grounder to retire the side.
• Wynnie Reid led off the fifth inning with a single, and one out later, L'Esperance reached on a bunt single. L'Esperance advanced all the way to third on a throwing error on the play, with Reid scoring to give the Falcons a 2-0 lead. Then, Makailah Dees battled Warrington through an 11-pitch at-bat, fouling off five of those pitches, before reaching on an error that plated L'Esperance with the Falcons' third run.
• Detroit cut into the Falcon lead in the home half of the fifth, however. After a leadoff walk to Rusti Glenn, Wolfbauer's double – the Titans' first hit of the day – enabled Glenn to score. Then, a one-out double by Trotman scored Wolfbauer to make it a 3-2 game. But, Stepp struck out Ryann Glenn, then got Jaiden Lara to ground out to Reid at short.
• BGSU got a pinch-hit double off the bat of Maycee Godbolt – on the first pitch she saw – in the sixth, but pinch-runner Hannah Hunt was stranded there.
• But, Mackenzie Krafcik entered the circle and retired all six hitters she faced in her collegiate debut. In the sixth, she got a popup to third, a fly ball to right and a grounder to short.
• In the seventh inning, Krafcik struck out Rusti Glenn, induced Wolfbauer to hit a popup to Chevalier at second, then got pinch-hitter Maddy Heilner to hit a game-ending ground ball to second.

DePAUL GAME – HOW IT HAPPENED
• Starting pitchers Hannah Davies and Abbey Pochie each enjoyed success in the early going. Pochie allowed a second-inning walk to Godbolt and a third-inning single to Chevalier – Chevalier's first collegiate hit – but kept the Falcons off of the scoreboard.
• Davies was even better during that span, retiring all nine hitters she faced.
• Reagan Williamson led off the Falcon fourth with a double, but the Falcons could not crack the scoreboard. In the bottom of the frame, however, the Blue Demons took the lead.
• Tori Meyer led off the home fourth with an inside-the-park homer, and Baylee Cosgrove walked and stole second. Then, Brooke Johnson singled to plate Cosgrove with the hosts' second run.
• Davies allowed only two baserunners, on a walk in the fifth inning and an error in the sixth, over the rest of the game.
• Meanwhile, the Falcons got a run back in the sixth. Dees led off with a single, and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Delaney Davis. Williamson walked, and Weber singled to score Dees. Brenna Smith entered the pitching circle for the Blue Demons, and retired the next two hitters in the sixth before setting down the Falcons in order in the seventh.

UP NEXT
• The Falcons play two more games in the DePaul Dome Tournament on Saturday (Feb. 11). BGSU will face Eastern Kentucky in a 10:30 a.m. start, before meeting Valparaiso at 1:00 p.m. (both times are Eastern).
• Currently, live stats are scheduled to be available for the Valpo game, but not for the EKU contest.
• Then, on Sunday (Feb. 12), BG wraps up weekend action with a 10:00 a.m (ET) contest vs. Western Illinois.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
• For more information on BGSU softball, follow the Falcons on Twitter (@BGAthletics and @BGSUSoftball) and Instagram (@bgsu_softball) as well as on the web right here at BGSUFalcons.com.